Several BJD workers from Kaliapalli Adivasi Sahi village of Dhanachangada panchayat under Khandapada Assembly constituency joined the Ama Odisha Party (AOP) on Thursday. The BJD workers, who joined the AOP at a function organized by the party at its office at Bhapur, alleged that despite their dedication and sincerity, they have been ignored by the BJD leadership time and again.

Expressing confidence in the leadership and clean image of AOP president Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, they promised to work hard to ensure the victory of their leader from Khandapada constituency this time. Among the BJD workers, Artabandhu Behera, Santosh Kumar Behera, Basant Kumar Nayak, Golak Bihari Behera, Sarat Kumar Nayak, Manas Kumar Behera, Pradip Kumar Dalei, Tapan Kumar Dehuri, P:aram Behera and Suresh Kumar Behera joined the AOP and were welcomed by the party president.